STI country profiles
Global HIV, Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections Programmes
Congenital syphilis
Reported congenital syphilis (CS) cases
Congenital syphilis cases
Congenital syphilis rate per 100 000 live births
Programmatic indicators for elimination of mother-to-child transmission (EMTCT)
Antenatal care coverage (at least 1 visit)
Antenatal care coverage (at least 4 visits)
Syphilis testing coverage
Syphilis treatment coverage
Syphilis prevalence in pregnant women
Syphilis prevalence in women attending ANC
Live births and stillbirths
Live births (number)
Stillbirth rate (per 1000 total births)
Congenital syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection that can affect anyone: men, women (both pregnant and non-pregnant), and individuals of all ages and backgrounds. If left untreated, it can lead to serious long-term health complications.
In pregnant women, however, the consequences can be especially devastating. Syphilis can cause stillbirth, preterm delivery, low birth weight, and congenital syphilis in newborns, many of which are life-threatening or result in long-term disability. According to WHO estimates, in 2022 there were 8.0 million new syphilis cases among adults and the global congenital syphilis case rate was 523 per 100 000 live births.
Data sources and definitions
Congenital syphilis cases | Number of reported congenital syphilis cases (live births and stillbirth) in the past 12 months. The WHO Global Health Observatory offers detailed information for each data point. This includes insights into the representativeness of the data, the sources of the data, and the diagnostic tests performed. This information is valuable for understanding changes over time and differences between countries. |
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Congenital syphilis rate per 100 000 live births | Congenital syphilis rate expressed per 100 000 live births. Indicator definition |
Antenatal care coverage (at least 1 visit) | Percentage of women (aged 15-49 years) attended at least once during pregnancy by skilled health personnel. Indicator definition |
Antenatal care coverage (at least 4 visits) | Percentage of women aged 15-49 with a live birth in a given time period that received antenatal care four or more times. Indicator definition |
Syphilis testing coverage | Percentage of women accessing antenatal care (ANC) services who were tested for syphilis (any visit). The WHO Global Health Observatory offers detailed information for each data point. This includes insights into the representativeness of the data, the sources of the data, and the diagnostic tests performed. This information is valuable for understanding changes over time and differences between countries. |
Syphilis treatment coverage | Percentage of antenatal care attendees positive for syphilis who received treatment. The WHO Global Health Observatory offers detailed information for each data point. This includes insights into the representativeness of the data, the sources of the data, and the diagnostic tests performed. This information is valuable for understanding changes over time and differences between countries. |
Syphilis prevalence in women attending ANC | Syphilis seropositivity among ANC attendees. Percentage of women attending antenatal care services who received syphilis testing and who had a positive syphilis serology. The WHO Global Health Observatory offers detailed information for each data point. This includes insights into the representativeness of the data, the sources of the data, and the diagnostic tests performed. This information is valuable for understanding changes over time and differences between countries. |
Live births (number) | Number of live births over a given period. Indicator definition |
Stillbirth rate (per 1000 total births) | The stillbirth rate (SBR) is defined as the number of babies born with no signs of life at 28 weeks or more of gestation, per 1,000 total births. Indicator definition |
Copyright and licensing
Copyright | Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) |
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Citation | World Health Organization 2025 data.who.int, STI country profiles > Congenital syphilis [Dashboard]. https://data.who.int/dashboards/sti/congenital-syphilis |
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